Carson Kressley: Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Horse Amber Pigeon Halter & Cooling Blanket
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APPRAISER:
And now we're on to this.
GUEST:
Yes. This really just stumbled into my, um, life, because a friend said, "There's a couple of pieces of horse equipment that Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis had owned that are being sold today." That was, like, at 9:00 a.m., and the sale was, like, at 10:00. So, like, I put on a cute outfit, and sunglasses and a hat, and I was, like, "I'm going to get these items." And I was a little bit suspicious that they were even legit. I thought, "Why would a piece like this be in a small auction outside of Allentown, Pennsylvania?" But I went, I saw these two pieces, and I thought they really did look legit. And there was a little tag with the items and it said a woman named Joy had taken care of this horse, Amber Pidgeon, who had belonged to Jacqueline Onassis. At some point in that horse's life, he was retired, and she said to the caretaker, "Would you like to have Toby?" And these came with the horse. Obviously, the monogram looks like it would be Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. And this is a blanket that you would wear... If the horse was taken to a competition, you'd kind of put this on as a show sheet. It would always be monogrammed with the owner's initials, and it would just kind of keep them clean, and look dressy when they got off the trailer. So it's kind of like horse fashion. And that's all I know.
APPRAISER:
And roughly you remember what you paid for it.
GUEST:
I paid about $400 for two halters and the blanket.
APPRAISER:
And the blanket. So, doing a little homework, I came across a nice eight-by-ten photo, which shows, uh, Jackie and John, Jr., and Caroline...
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
...uh, in 1988...
GUEST:
I'm getting goosebumps. See that?
APPRAISER:
Yeah, 1988, and Jackie was photographed with the two kids.
GUEST:
Hm.
APPRAISER:
Jackie was on her horse Solo Flight. And in the caption, it says that John, Jr., is riding Amber Pidgeon.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
Toby. Now you have the provenance. That's 100% right. I think it's a great piece. For insurance purposes, I would estimate both pieces from $2,500 to $5,000.
GUEST:
Wow.
APPRAISER:
The insurance value. If I had an auction, I'd probably estimate it between $1,000 and $2,000.
GUEST:
Mm-hmm.
APPRAISER:
If it was in a Kennedy auction, it would probably go for well, well more than that. Have you used this...
GUEST:
I had never used it because I thought it was too precious, until today, I put it on one of our horses, Tony. And, um, he did look great in it, but I think I'm gonna, um, save it, and maybe put it in a shadow box or do some kind of presentation where I can turn it into decor.
APPRAISER:
Nice. Piece of American history and that it was handled by a first lady and John, Jr., who was...
GUEST:
Yeah. John, Jr., may have touched this. My goodness!
APPRAISER:
He probably did. He probably did.
GUEST:
That is really cool.
APPRAISER:
So it's a great piece.
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